RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
BOSTON (AP) -- To find a little movivation, the New York Knicks
only had to go back 13 days.
| |
| Houston |
Getting 25 points from Allan Houston, New York avenged its last
defeat by beating the Boston Celtics 100-91 on Wednesday night.
The Knicks have won five straight since losing to the Celtics
92-88 on Dec. 21.
"(There was) a little bit more motivation," Houston said. "We
knew we wanted to redeem ourselves."
New York is unbeaten since losing to the Celtics 92-88 on Dec.
21, a victory that snapped a 15-game losing streak at Madison
Square Garden that dated back to 1993.
"We wanted to continue to prove we can play like we have. We
want to see how long we can keep this streak going," Houston said.
Since the loss, New York has defeated Philadelphia, Washington,
Chicago, Minnesota and Boston.
"We have to play well to win," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy
said. "There are some teams in this league that don't have to play
well to win -- we're not one of those teams."
Houston scored four points in a 6-0 Knicks run, giving New York
an 83-76 lead before Antoine Walker hit two 3-pointers to cut the
lead to 85-82 with 6:24 left. An 11-3 run, highlighted by Chris
Childs' 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining, gave the Knicks a 96-85
lead.
"Allan Houston is a great shooter. Bryant Stith played him as
well as he possibly could, but he shot 9-for-12," Celtics coach
Rick Pitino said. "Give Houston credit. We stopped him in New York
and we won. We didn't stop him here, and we lost."
Walker led all scorers with 30 points in the third meeting of
the season between the two teams. The Celtics lost 103-101 in
overtime on Nov. 11.
"They play hard and it makes me play harder," Houston said of
the Celtics. The saying is, `you are what your record says you
are.' But, a lot of 12-20 teams don't play as hard as they do."
Childs had 17 points and seven assists and Larry Johnson had 16
points for the Knicks. Latrell Sprewell added 12.
The Celtics, losers of their last three, got 16 points apiece
from Bryant Stith and Paul Pierce.
After leading by as many as 14 points in the first quarter, the
Celtics saw their lead quickly slip away. The Knicks took a 50-47
lead late in the second quarter on a three-point play by Kurt
Thomas before Walker, who scored 21 points in the half, tied it
50-50 before the break.
After the Knicks took their biggest lead, 73-67, in the third
quarter, a 3-pointer by Eric Williams and a jumper by Vitaly
Potapenko cut it to 73-72 at the end of close of the third quarter.
Game notes
Knicks center Marcus Camby returned to the lineup after
missing four straight games with a strained left groin. ... Glen
Rice did not dress for the game due to plantar faciitis. ... During
their five-game winning streak, the Knicks have allowed 80 points
or more only twice.
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
New York Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 100 Boston 91
Philadelphia 98 Atlanta 80
Detroit 107 Dallas 104
Milwaukee 88 Cleveland 83
Phoenix 90 LA Clippers 85
Portland 102 Indiana 86
Vancouver 99 Charlotte 89
Denver 111 Golden State 100
LA Lakers 82 Utah 71
FROM ATHLETESDIRECT
Antoine Walker Official Site
|